A crowd of state, federal and tribal officials filled a room at the C'Mon Inn Tuesday, and all were gathered to talk about one hotly contested subject: Yellowstone National Park bison.

It was the first of two meetings in Bozeman that are being held by the groups that guide bison management in and around the park.

The issues that came up?

Tribal officials requested more organization among the groups involved, others wondered what will happen to bison that are part of an ongoing quarantine project, and a biologist mentioned a unique theory on reducing the disease brucellosis among the burly animals.

Representatives from the Nez Perce tribe, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes and the Intertribal Buffalo Council said there was a lack of protocol and choreography among the groups involved and asked that there be a written procedure for the way they make decisions, meet and conduct business.

Officials from those groups, which include the state Department of Livestock, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, agreed to work on written protocol.

Those at the meeting also asked about the fate of bison that are part of a quarantine project. The animals in question do not have brucellosis, a disease that can cause miscarriages. The disease has made bison a controversial topic once they wander onto state land because of a fear that the sickness could spread to cattle and threaten the livestock industry.

Pat Flowers, Region 3 supervisor for FWP, said environmental assessments are ongoing at four locations where quarantined bison could temporarily be taken. Flowers noted that though the Department of Livestock tends to have a say in the management of potentially infected bison in the state, it would not have jurisdiction over the quarantined animals because they are disease-free.

Also at the meeting, Rick Wallen, a biologist in the park, spoke about reducing the prevalence of brucellosis in bison. Female bison who test positive for exposure to brucellosis tend to be seen as a risk because they can spread the disease if, for example, other animals make contact with their birthing fluid.

However, Wallen said that those females - which are typically seen as "transmission vectors" may actually strengthen herd immunity and be helpful in reducing the disease.

A second meeting will take place today from 8:30 a.m. until noon at the C'Mon Inn.

Carly Flandro can be reached at 582-2638 or cflandro@dailychronicle.com.

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